Today, a Matisse painting can sell for as much as US$ 17 million. In 2002, a Matisse sculpture, "Reclining Nude I (Dawn)," sold for US$ 9.2 million, a record for a sculpture by the artist. It was only after the end of the war that Matisse turned to large compositions. He executed sketches for the stained-glass panel representing St. Dominique in the church at Assy, the interior decoration for the chapel of Notre-Dame du Rosaire at Venice (1948-51), and sketches for the stained-glass panel Rose for the Uniate Church in New York (1954). In his last years he devoted a great deal of his time to cut-outs and brush drawings.
His Paintings
This is called Icarus. This was one of his first paper cut outs. It shows his love of bold basic colours that stand out rather than lots of small detail. Its like this person is dancing through the stars with a red spot marking his heart. Possibly this is to show his love?
This was made in 1943
This is called Blue Nude IV. This is one of his paper cut pictures. In which he still expresses his love for bold colours and simple designs. This piece may resemble him exposing himself with passion and his love for his artwork.
This was made in 1952.
La Tristesse du roi (sorrows of the kings). In this piece of work there is more detail but he has overlapped the pieces of paper to make it more complex. The bold colours also bring out the main features like the man in the middle. It shows two people praying for mercy before this king like figure. It is hard to notice what is going on as it is very abstract.
This was made in 1952.
This is one of his earlier pieces titled Vase of Sunflowers. It is a basic painting and that is very different to what of his other pieces. This hasn’t got the big bold basic colours. It is more blended together with more similar colours. He has more detail yet he keeps his artwork simple. So he keeps things simple but they turn out unique.
This was painted in 1898
This painting is called The Dance. He used oils to paint this. He still uses basic shapes not too detailed to liven up his work. The picture shows five figures dancing in a circle. This could represent the gods helping out on the world below.
This was made in 1910.
Matisse’s paper cut outs
Matisse knew already how to cut. It was already present to him as a descendent of generations of weavers. Like virtually all his northern relatives, he had an inborn appreciation of their texture and design. He knew how to use pins and paper patterns, and he was supremely confident with scissors. He called it “painting with scissors.” Matisse said, "Only what I created after the illness constitutes my real self: free and liberated.” With these new designs he had a lot to explore, not many people would do this sort of artwork. Among his first work with paper cut outs was a cheerful book called Jazz, which Matisse prepared during the war but which was only published in 1947. The book and the previously published album with the twenty colour plates were only printed in a hundred copies. These were lively multicolour paintings that were abstract and figurative. Matisse designed the book so that each full page image is explained by five pages of text and each half-page image by three pages of text. This shows he had reason to create all of these pictures.
Contact and Details
Tel: 415 421 7171
Fax: 415 421 2775
E-Mail: [email protected]
Gallery Hours:
Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm
Saturday: 10am-5pm
Other hours by appointment
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